16 Light Years
by Misterida
Summary: 16 light years may as well be as far as the Andromeda Galaxy when you are limping home on a heavily damaged flagship. No warp, twice as many passengers as crew and an utterly debilitated Starfleet. Post Narada fic. Rated for language. WIP.


Okay, so I am gonna be super honest here from the start. I am a 2009 Star Trek fan 100%. Having loved both films I have read a lot of the fics here and decided to have a go at one of my own. I have never seen any of TOS so if anything is totally out of canon I apologise in advance. Also, if there is anything that isn't canon and fanon and I have used please let me know - it can be hard to tell sometimes and I don't want to be poaching anyone's originality.

To my very loyal fans that have seen that I have posted for the first time in like a year (god, I am really sorry!) I can only apologise that this isn't the conclusion to Butterflies. I am working on it, and have been for a really long time, but I am struggling with it and I am hoping that some time on another project will get it going again - please bear with me. I will finish it; I promise!

Also, some of the information I got from the memory-alpha wiki site which has been really helpful in fleshing out details. Also, Scotty's accent came from this totally awesome website called whoohoo (to is a dot co dot uk site) where it will translate into an accent! It makes my job a lot easier. Chekov's I had to butcher on my own so apologies if it sucks.

Finally, I don't own it. I don't think for a minute you guys believed that I did but still. Also, this is unbeta'd so beware the mistakes!

* * *

16 Light years. 1013 miles. Doesn't sound so far. Not really. Not when you think that the Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 _million_ light years away from one tiny little planet where humanity originated from.

Having said that, however, 16 light years may as well be as far as the Andromeda Galaxy when you are limping home on a heavily damaged flagship. No warp, twice as many passengers as crew and an utterly debilitated Starfleet.

"You're certain?" Acting Captain Kirk said heavily, his face cupped in one palm.

"Da." Said Pavel Chekov nodding his head seriously.

"Four months." Jim sighed leaning back heavily in his chair. "Four months to get back home. Fuck."

"Da." Chekov agreed.

Kirk laughed in surprise before he had even time to consider it. Had he had that opportunity to consider he would probably fought the urge. The sound, whilst delighted, whited out alongside his vision. Broken ribs, Jim reminded himself, too little too late, bloody mother fucking broken ribs. Plus, you know, the usual. Concussions… he lost count how many (nails in the coffin at this point though). Something was definitely up with his knee and his ankle from his near mauling, his hand hadn't really healed in the first place so he was going to go with still-broken rather than re-broken as well as some nasty scrapes from ice climbing, some were definitely infected, plus you know the whole multiple choking thing (see earlier mention of coffins and nails). And whilst Jim was a kinky bugger, even he didn't swing that way.

He supposed that he had really ought to have got to see Bones by now, but Jim knows, just knows, that no matter how this shit goes down, and Jim trusts his luck enough to know that the shit is going to go down, that Bones is gonna string him up from the Jeffery tubes just as an example to the rest of the crew why you never, _never_, delay medical treatment. One hour post-injury Jim may have had a hope. Five hours perhaps with a smile, an acquiescence to being treated and a well-placed hypo based yelp, he could have just had a few "reckless", "idiot, "god damned moron" and nothing more would have been said. Five days later, and the Romulan ship raid non-withstanding, Jim knew that he was a dead man walking. Besides Pike had been in and out of surgery constantly in the previous three days since the Narada and until he was in the clear Kirk wasn't going to be a distraction with his allergies and his aversion to anyone, who wasn't Bones, treating him.

You know what they say about speaking of the Devil.

The turbolift doors swished open ominously. Doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy stormed on to the Bridge scowl firmly in place and immediately searched out Spock, immediately crowding his personal space. How did the doors do that ominous thing? Jim was fairly certain that the doors have never deigned to make ominous noises for him.

"Jim, you have three seconds to get your ass to Medical before I lose my temper." The doctor growled toe to toe with the re-instated first officer. He didn't even so much as glance at Jim.

Jim and Chekov blinked at each other before Jim transferred his gaze fully to the doctor.

"Hey Bones, y'know whilst I would love to run off to med-bay for some more hypos I am busy doing Captain-shit." Jim drawled slumping down more in the chair and accepting a pile of PADDs from the Yeoman who had been hovering almost constantly. "Plus, and whilst you might not have-"

"NOW. CAPTAIN." How Bones was able to get such a volume whilst he teeth were clenched together Jim would never know.

The doctor was still in a staring contest with Spock. Jim hoped that they didn't start comparing eyebrow maintenance. Cause that would be odd. Creepy. Nutty. Mmmm nutty. Did the replicators have Reece's Pieces? No, bad. The replicators now had to feed three times as many people as originally planned. Plus you know four months to get home. Four whole months. Bones was gonna kill him and Spock was going to scrap off what was left for seconds. A dying man got last requests right? Surely they wouldn't notice one missing bag of peanut buttery goodness….

Jim's eyes flickered round the Bridge. Everyone seemed as shell-shocked as he was so he assumed it wasn't the concussions finally getting to him, well not totally anyway. He considered carefully before easing himself in something that may have been loosely termed upright.

"Leave the PADDs." Bones barks.

Jim glances down at the PADDs that were forgotten in his hands. He swallows and then gently placed then down in the now empty chair.

"Are you coming?" He asked Bones lightly.

"In a minute. The good Commander and I need to clear something up real quick. Wait for me in Medical. And for the love of god don't let anyone else hypo you. Go." The doctor didn't so much as blink.

Jim was grateful that all eyes were on the show-down rather than himself. Attention was only a good thing if it was for the right reasons. And the way Jim staggered to the turbolift could not be any way described as a 'right reason' for attention.

* * *

As soon as the turbolift doors swished shut behind the Acting Captain the Acting Chief Medical Officer took another step closer to the First Office which was actually a little surprising. There haven't been enough room to swing an amoeba between them _before_ the Doctor had closed quarters.

Without so much as blinking the doctor threw a small object toward Uhura who caught it more out of reflex than anything else.

"Play it. Main screen. Let's all have a listen." McCoy said sarcastically.

The Lieutenant didn't dare comment and immediately connected the comm-link to the station in front of her. She down loaded the only file contained on the device. She then diverted it to the main-screen accordingly.

There was nothing but static for a few seconds before a voice came over the line. The background noise was intense and the speaker had raised his voice to be caught on the recorder but at the same was muffled as though there was something between the comlink and the speaker.

"_Star date 2258.42."_

Spock's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

McCoy scoffed and turned his back on the XO, finally allowing the Vulcan more than a millimetre of breathing space.

"He's James Bloody Tiberius Fucking Kirk. He didn't get beamed back to the ship but staying in the god-damned pod!"

"_Or 44. Whatever."_

Sulu snorted and then frantically covered with a fake sneeze as the doctors furious eyes swung his way.

"_Acting _Captain_ Spock has marooned me on Delta Vega, in what I believe to be a violation of Security Protocol 49.09."_

Spock's eyebrows ascended higher.

"Of course he is familiar with the security protocols! He has been called up on them enough times."

"Like you haven't." Uhura jibed before she had even really thought about it. The doctor swung to face her and as his eyes connected with hers, she saw something flicker in his eyes. She knew them just as well as he did. When Jim wasn't getting into, and out of trouble, with McCoy it would be with Galia. He had bumped in to Uhura fishing Galia out of trouble many times when doing the same for his roommate.

"… _governing the treatment of prisoners aboard a Starfle-"_

The voice cut off suddenly as the howling of the wind increased over the comm. As one, with the exception of the doctor, the Alpha Bridge crew leant forward as though the story being played to them would run faster if they were closer to the source of the sound.

There is silence on the line for what felt like an eternity; although in reality couldn't have been more than four or five seconds.

Suddenly the howling of this wind isn't _just_ that. Then the noises become muffled as the Comm link is presumably dropped into a pocket.

Then there is a roar that is deep and throaty and vicious. Kirk screamed and there was nothing but noise and far too much of it. The storm, Kirk yelling, Kirk falling, him desperately scrambling back to his feet, the sound of running, more than one something running, and the growling of something that has seen its' dinner.

Then for a second everything stopped. There is the sound of something akin to an explosion. The Kirk's surprised yell cuts across the line once more. Then there is another roar, a different roar. For almost a whole moment the only sound is Kirk's desperate battle to get oxygen to his lungs. And then he screamed once more. The sound is terrified and desperate. Not two words anyone would usually chose to describe the currently Acting Captain.

Then the reason for the desperation is clear a roar so loud it shakes the abandoned PADDs on the Captain's chair.

The screaming takes off once more and several of the crew are left wondering how the Captain can scream and run at the same time.

Then the Captain grunted and Spock almost winces.

There was the sound of tumbling and pained grunts before the monster can be heard once more. A total of 22 seconds passes before they can hear anything clearly again. Jim Kirk was gasping for breath. For nearly five seconds there was nothing else before the sound of scrabbling could be heard.

A second crash splits the hushed silence of the bridge so loud that the top two PADDs on the Captain's chair actually clattered to the floor. Then Jim screamed again. More thunderous crashes and explosions could be heard before there was a smaller crash followed by a pained groan. It left little to the imagination and Chekov's hands flew to his horrified face at the thought of Kirk having been caught by this monster.

Everyone is still waiting for the sounds of crunching bones. Forget the fact the Captain had clearly survived the crew were so drawn into the audio file that they were all desperately waiting for the outcome.

When a new sound cuts across the line everyone leans forward slightly more. The noise of the monster retreats until the only noise is the crackling of a fire and Jim's shaky, panting breaths.

"_James T. Kirk."_

Nearly the entire bridge jumped at the sound a voice that wasn't Jim.

Jim took a few more fast breaths before he found his voice.

"_Excuse me?"_

"_How did you find me?"_

"_How do you know my name?"_

"_I have been and always shall be you friend."_

A few looks were exchanged at this. A friend that Jim clearly doesn't even recognise?

Jim laughed. Clearly he agreed with future-crew on this assessment.

"_Look, I-I _don't _know you." _He sounded bemused and little amused. Only Jim.

"_I am Spock."_

Every single head whipped round to look at the first officer. McCoy who had been staring at Spock almost the entire time raised one eyebrow as though in a challenge.

There was silence on the line. Two seconds, three, four.

"_Bullshit."_

The conversation continued between the two men but no one was paying any attention. Everyone was staring transfixed at Spock who in turn was staring at the floor, brow pulled down into what might be considered a frown.

"_What are you doing?"_ Jim's voice was panicked bordering on alarm.

The crew abandoned their staring of Spock and refocused on the recorded conversation.

"Our minds, one and together. 129 years from now, a star will explode and it will threaten to destroy the galaxy…"

Suddenly Jim gasped and there is no more noise on the line.

"No. _No_." Spock was practically gaping. Horror and anger were at war in his eyes.

The line was silent for several minutes the only sound being Jim's breathing which becomes more and more frenzied as the minutes pass.

"_Forgive me. Emotional transference is an effect of the mind-meld."_

The only sound was Jim's wheezing breaths and the sound of pacing. His breathing hitched.

"_So you do feel?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Going back in time, you changed all our lives?"_

"_Jim, we must go. There is a Starfleet outpost not far from here."_

"_Wait, where you came from, did I know my father?"_

Uhura's own breath hitched; something she would deny later. Sulu's face was frozen in shock.

"_Yes. You often spoke of his as being your inspiration for joining Starfleet. He proudly lived to see you become Captain of the Enterprise."_

"Boh ty moy!. Stop." Chekov said, as he stood shakily to his feet.

"_Captain?"_

Spock suddenly turns his back on the watching crew. He looks calm and poised as always, but the crew can see how tightly clenched his hands are.

"_A ship we must return you to as soon as possible."_

"Stop the recording." McCoy said to Uhura. "There is nothing else worth listening to. Just a 14 kilometre hike to the post, which is where they picked up Scott. And speaking off."

McCoy turned towards the turbo-lift where Scott was loitering anxiously. So absorbed the crew had been that they hadn't even noticed his arrival.

"Alrecht, afair ye e'en start, Ah ken 'at ye ar' aw annoyed abit hoo much ay th' Captain's valuable time we hae bin takin' up but Ah jist want tae say-."

Even Spock blinked at the broad accent.

McCoy crossed his arms and lent back against one of the work stations happy to let this play out between the Acting Chief Engineer and the First Office. Let Spock's logic do some of the work for the rest of them.

"To what time are you referring?"

Spock recovered quicker than McCoy had expected.

"Th' Delta shifts."

Scott offered no further explanation than that.

Spock turned away and then back to face the engineer once more.

"You mean to say that the Captain has been assisting in your department during Delta shift?"

Scott nodded a confused look on his face.

"Aye."

"But," every head swivelled to Chekov. "Ze Captain vas on ze Bridge for Alpha sheeft, and signing off on paperwork on Beta sheeft."

"Indeed." Spock's tone was clipped and frosty. "Was this a singular event?" Spock asked Scott.

"Nae. every shift afair an' sinceth' Narada."

There was silence for a moment as everyone racked their brains trying to think if Kirk had left the bridge or ready room at any point between Alpha and Beta shifts.

"Spock, what are the duties of a first officer?" McCoy asked politely examining his fingernails.

"To what end-"

"Answer the damn question!" McCoy barked before Spock would finish.

Spock sighed mightily and then recited.

"On a Federation Star ship, the first officer had the following functions. First, to serve as the principal adviser to the captain. Second, implementing the captain's orders. Third, preparing and issuing duty rosters. It also covers the commanding the vessel in the event of the captain's absence, incapacitation or death. Finally, the duties of the first officer are working with the chief medical officer or counsellor on crew evaluations."

"Let's consider that, shall we?" McCoy said coldly. "Work with me here, where are Jim's quarters?"

Spock would deny the Vulcan's could feel emotions, despite recoded-Spock's declaration, but it was clear to all the crew that Spock was surprised by the question.

"Nevermind, forget that." McCoy said. "Was he issued with a replicator card so that he could eat or drink?"

Spock's eyebrows climbed higher up his forehead. McCoy pushes forcibly off the work station he had been leant against.

"The whole bloody ship knows that y'all reamed him our two days ago for not following protocols. It is your job to advise the Captain. Acting or otherwise. Do y'all think Jim has the first idea about managing a star ship in these conditions? He is doing the best that he can for a fucking cadet thrown into his position and y'all have done nothing, _nothing_, to help or make this easier for him. I am sorry if he embarrassed y'all by passing your test, if y'all feel embarrassment, or y'all are right fed up with him and his attitude, if y'all can get fed up. He is trying. Trying to make the best out of this as he can. On no food, no sleep, no downtime at all and no help from y'all. Did you even notice that was injured? If y'all continue to mess with him we are gonna have issues. We clear, Lieutenant Commander Spock? Y#all are meant to have a vast intellect and superior reasoning skills. Y'all may wanna try pulling your head out of your ass and-"

"Nurse Chapel to Doctor McCoy."

The comm link broke into the doctor's rant. In terms of time it was probably for the best.

"McCoy here."

"Doctor, get back here now! It's the Captain."

McCoy swore loudly and swiftly moved back towards the turbolift.

"What happened?" He demanded roughly.

"One of the junior nurses found him in the turbolift - he'd collapsed. She didn't know who he was. Doctor, she gave him two doses of Oxycodone."

"Is he still conscious?" He snapped.

"Yes, and fighting us."

The turbolift doors swooshed opened and McCoy dove inside swearing like a sailor.

"Lieutenant Sulu, take the Conn." Spock said as followed McCoy, slipping inside the turbolift just as the doors slid closed.


End file.
